Page 36 of A Forbidden Night with a Scot
As the serving wench brought them food and drinks, Alicia found that she was starving after that long ride and after skipping breakfast. She had been too absorbed by her thoughts that morning to eat, thinking about all the reasons Samuel was avoiding her and what she could do to fix it in the little time she had left with him, but she couldn’t come up with a single idea. No matter how much she tried to talk to him, Samuel always claimed he knew better than she did and insisted what they were doing was wrong, despite Alicia’s assurances that it was precisely what she desired.
Why would he change his mind now? If anything, he was probably frightened by the events of the previous night, that misplaced guilt gnawing at him until there was nothing left.
“Where are ye comin’ from, traveler?”
Alicia looked up at the question to see the serving wench smiling at Samuel as she rested a hand on the back of his chair. It was not a friendly smile that Alicia saw—no, it was flirtatious, confident and playful in a way she wasn’t, and the woman’s eyes never once strayed from him.
Samuel gave the woman a small shrug. “Nae too far from here,” he said vaguely with a smile of his own.
“Well, I wish ye would have come sooner,” said the woman, much to the amusement of Alicia’s father. Alicia couldn’t find the humor in it, though. Her cheeks warmed, anger coursing through her at the thought that this woman was trying to flirt with Samuel.
Or was it something else which bothered her, she wondered? Could it be that the true source of her anger was her fear that she would never measure up to someone like her?
The woman was pretty, with long, auburn hair and green eyes, freckles spreading over her nose and cheeks, but it wasn’t only her beauty which drew men’s eyes on her. It was also the way she moved and talked, unabashed and looking as though she was in full control of not only herself, but the situation, as well.
Now that Alicia was paying more attention to her, she could see many of the other patrons tracking her movements. They were watching her, all wishing they could have the attention she was giving Samuel.
Either way, she couldn’t resist the urge to roll her eyes at the blatant flirting, petulantly crossing her arms over her chest. The woman had no way of knowing Alicia’s true feelings for Samuel, but that mattered little to her in that moment, when she watched the woman lean so close. The jealousy that bubbled up inside her was too much to overlook, settling heavy in her stomach and cutting her appetite short.
“What is yer name, handsome?” the woman asked, and Alicia answered for him before he could.
“Laird Samuel MacLachlan,” she said drily, hoping the woman would take the hint and leave them alone. “Could we have some more ale?”
The woman, along with everyone at the table, turned to look at Alicia, and it was then she realized just how much attention she had attracted. Most of all, it was her father’s attention that she didn’t want, just as much as she didn’t want to acknowledge the confused frown, he gave her.
“O’ course,” the woman said, looking at Alicia for only a moment, before she turned back to Samuel. “A laird, hmm? It isnae often a laird stays here, but I’ll make sure that ye enjoy yer stay.”
Alicia’s scowl deepened and it was then that she felt a gentle touch on her thigh. She glanced at Samuel, who had leaned a little closer to her and was looking between her and the woman, as if he was trying to calm Alicia before she lost her temper in front of everyone.
As the woman left to bring the ale, her father laughed and said, “Ach, Samuel, still popular with the lasses, I see. What is it about ye that drives them mad?”
Aye, o’ course he is popular. Why wouldnae every lass want him?
Samuel was handsome, with his long, blonde hair and deep blue eyes. He was a kind man, too, his warmth radiating from him even when he tried to build walls around him. He cared forothers and it showed in everything he did, so it was no wonder that women liked him.
Still, it had never crossed Alicia’s mind before, and now that she was thinking about it, she was filled with a profound sorrow, one that made every breath she took hurt her chest. What did she have to offer him? Why would he ever want her when he could take his pick from so many women who were older, more confident, more knowledgeable in the pleasures of the flesh?
Sooner or later, he would marry another woman, while Alicia would marry Laird MacTavish. No matter how much she wished something would prevent her marriage, she knew it was unlikely. Then, she and Samuel would be nothing but a memory to each other—two people once brought so close by desire slowly turning into complete strangers.
Suddenly, it was all too much to bear and Alicia was suffocating in the despair of her own thoughts. Her bottom lip trembled, and the gentle hand on her thigh only served to make everything worse, to remind her of everything she couldn’t have.
“Excuse me,” she said before the tears could start to fall, and she stood abruptly, the legs of her chair scraping against the stone floor. “I’m afraid I was just overcome by a great weakness. I will head tae the chambers an’ rest.”
In an instant, her father stood as well, alarmed by her words. “Are ye alright? Shall we fetch the healer? This town must have one.”
“Nay, nay. I’m fine, Faither, thank ye,” Alicia assured him, already walking backwards towards the stairs that led to the rooms. “Stay. I will call fer ye if I need anythin’.”
She didn’t wait to listen to any other protests before she hurried to her rooms, all but fleeing the table. Only when she was behind the safety of her door did she finally let the tears fall.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The knock on the door startled Alicia and she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes as she asked, “Who is it?”
“Me,” called Samuel’s voice from the other side. “Please, Alicia, let me inside. I wish tae speak with ye.”
What a fool tae have followed me here! What if Faither suspects?
Yet Alicia couldn’t deny she was flattered Samuel had followed her. A warmth spread in her chest at the thought that he had risked it all to come and make sure she was alright, and she wanted to open the door and let him inside just as much as she wanted to tell him to go away.
